The Story of Shinuko Obake
by R-A-W-R-I-E
Summary: There was definitely something unsafe, unnerving and dangerous about the young girl - but no explanation could be given as to why it was so. Blind, and with her eyes covered most of the time, she is a fierce opponent. But when uncovered... well, nobody's been fortunate enough to be able to tell their tale. Who is she, and why is she here? What misfortune awaits her? Naruto x OC
1. Shinuko Obake

**A.N. This is a revised edition of my old story "The Story of Shinuko Obake". It wasn't really going in the direction which I wanted before, and I had lost some interest in it due to college work. With my new timetable that I've given myself now I'm in university, I have more time to write for pleasure, as well as keep up to date with all my assignments and reading. It's a win-win!**

**Anyway, I would love some feedback on this first chapter if possible. I'm debating whether to make this a Sasuke x OC or Naruto x OC... hm decisions. The next chapter will have more interactions, so maybe you can help me make up my mind then!**

* * *

There was definitely something unsafe, unnerving and dangerous about the young girl who, along with her four canine companions, was guided into the Third Hokage's office by Kakashi and his squad. At her feet stood three earthy-brown wolves, each adorning a solid-coloured bandana around their necks: one blue, one red and one yellow. It was probably the only way to distinguish between them appearance-wise as they were all nearly identical both in height and shape, with just a few differences.

The girl was quite small, and looked terribly undernourished. Her clothes were clearly impractical for shinobi, and draped off her body as if she was nothing more than a clothes-hanger. It surprised Kakashi to see her holding the smallest of the four dogs in her arms, even though it was clearly a struggle for her. He watched with a sympathetic expression, as her tiny arms trembled, even though the small golden-coated dog's condition was just as pitiful as her owner's. Why did she not put the animal down if it was causing her discomfort? He couldn't shake away the question that had entered his mind ever since their encounter.

* * *

_/flashback/_

"_Thief!" a rather plumpish man bellowed as he waddled around his stall, frantically pointing his stubby finger at the shadow of the culprit, who vanished behind the buildings. Already out of breath, the man whipped around and waved his arms to get the attention of Kakashi and his squad, who just happened to be walking past. "Thief! Thief!" he cried out, struggling to breathe by this point._

_Kakashi's gaze followed the direction of his finger, and he caught a glimpse of an animal, which must have followed the criminal. "Everyone, follow them," he ordered, tucking his novel into the inside of his jacket as he started running after his team. Despite the urgency in the stall owner's voice, Kakashi, as usual, seemed relatively unfazed by the situation. Compared to past missions, this was a walk in the park, but it would surely be good experience for his team, who seemed bored of completing menial tasks._

_They chased the thief and the three dogs out of the village, still following them as they entered the forest that surrounded most of Konohagakure. The squad almost caught up until the thief and the three dogs all split up, venturing off in totally different directions._

"_Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, go after the three dogs. Use your walkie-talkies to get back to me when you've found them… decide between you which one you'll follow." Kakashi commanded, before taking to the trees, hoping that by following the person from above, he'd have a better chance at capturing her. As he darted from one tree to another, the idea of unleashing his Sharingan didn't even occur to him – after all, it was just a kid. _

_Sakura took the path to the right, and sprinted after one of the dogs, following their footprints. Suddenly, the trail seemed to stop in the middle of nowhere, without any sign of jumping into the trees – each print was equal and similar in size and depth. There was no way they could just vanish. The idea of gen-jutsu crossed her mind, but the dismissed it almost instantly. No canine could possibly create an illusion without the use of hand-signs, surely? _

_A sharp stinging sensation hit her hard. The intense pain seemed to radiate from her stomach, and branch out around her entire body, almost like she was on fire. She screamed, before clasping a hand to her mouth. Her screams were silent… like nothing was coming out except air. Each attempt failed. Her cries for helped were replaced with a muffled gargling plea for help. Sakura grabbed her throat, feeling water rise up, and fill her mouth. Without any warning, she found herself on the ground, with the wolf on top of her chest, watching as the water overfilled and seeped out of the corners of her mouth. Within seconds their match was over and the last thing she saw was a flash of the animal's red bandana._

_Several minutes later, Sakura woke up in a cold sweat, patting her body, her mouth, finding that she was completely unscathed. "The hell… what was that?" she gasped, tenderly feeling her throat, which seemed perfectly fine. That gen-jutsu was unlike anything she'd ever experienced or witnessed before._

_Meanwhile, Sasuke headed north, following a mixture of footprints and scratches in the wood, where the dog had clearly been bouncing from one tree to the next – indicating that it was a very agile animal. Down the beaten path, Sasuke stopped, seeing the dirty brown canine, with the blue bandana, standing in a small clearing, glaring daggers at him "You ready?" It growled with a sinister glimmer in its eyes. Sasuke was certainly dumbstruck at hearing the low, dark voice. _

_Like a flash, the dog-like creature lunged at Sasuke at a speed he'd never seen before. Sasuke ran at him too, failing to stop when the animal did a 180 in mid-air, landing on its forelegs before delivering a sharp kick with his back legs, and struck the boy square in the stomach. _

_Sasuke staggered back to his feet, coughing up a bit of blood, before creating a hand seal. "Fire release: great fireball technique!" he roared, before expelling a large flaming ball of red-hot flames. He hurled the attack straight at the dog, slamming it into the tree, consequently snapping the trunk in half due to the intense impact. The boy smirked and performed another hand seal, readying himself for another attack. He scowled as the animal got back on its feet. _

_Despite the lack of muscle tone, and protruding bones, the dog still had plenty of stamina, it seemed. Immediately after recovering, the dog zig-zagged swiftly, running straight at Sasuke, who barely had time to think. The dog's head was almost glowing from the chakra that he'd channelled to the area. In one fluent move, the dog was in the air, heading straight towards the Uchiha like a bullet, although it felt much more like a train had rammed into his gut instead. With a loud thud, the Uchiha was on the ground, and the dog was gone again. _

_Naruto panicked as he heard the screams and the anguished cries of his peers. What were these animals doing to them? With a growl, he summoned four shadow clones, and charged ahead with much more passion. _

"_Shadow close jutsu!" Naruto jerked his head back at the voice, seeing the dog he was chasing right beside him, and summoning his own canine clones! Naruto was completely taken aback and only just managed to duck to avoid the attack of several of the dog's copies. What kind of creature was this? Never had he seen an animal use jutsu, let alone the same technique has him! Naruto scowled and lunged at the canine with a tightened fist. The canine's eyes widened as the fists of the clones sent him into the ground. As he collided with the earth, he muttered something, and sent a great wall of stone and earth into the clones from the ground. Knowing that he wasn't about to win (a draw, at least), the dog used the wall as a chance to escape by temporarily blocking the blonde-haired ninja's line of sight._

_Finally Kakashi caught up with the girl, who was still carrying a small creature in her arms and wore a large cleaving sword of sorts on her back, as well as another slimmer blade that was attached to her waist. He knew she wouldn't last much longer – she looked weak, tired and obviously the weight was nothing more than a burden. From fifty feet away he could clearly see her body struggle with the two tasks of sprinting and securing something in her arms. The Jounin also noticed that she was clearly new to the area as he watched her veering steadily off of the path and closer to the edge, where a very steep, perilous drop was waiting patiently. A little yelp came from the girl's arms and she stopped suddenly, turning her head to face Kakashi. _

_Her eyes were covered with bandages, which were wrapped underneath her hair, but secured a handful of her fringe to cover her left eye. There was a light breeze, which caused her hair to sway gently, and ever-so-slightly revealing a glimpse of an old scar than seemed to run down the left side of her face and neck. She was a pale girl, and very small and fragile, giving Kakashi the impression that she must have been a couple of years younger than his team. Her hair was an off-white colour and very dull in appearance, although the texture completely contradicted its initial appearance – it was wild, and almost energetic with a will never to be tamed. _

_Despite being out of options, the child didn't seem fazed at all. Did she even know why he was here? What would await her? Or did she have some plan ready to put into action? Her calm demeanour was seriously beginning to concern the teacher, but he continued with the mission, clapping his hands together, quickly creating several hand-signs, but stopped when the girl went to turn and run. She slipped, and tucked her head into the animal in her arms, preparing for the fall. Kakashi swiftly intervened and extended his hand, grabbing the girl by her jacket, and pulling her up to safety. _

_The sensei never loosened his grip, and the girl didn't even try to slip away. She was frozen stiff, tightening her hold on the dog in her arms. "Who are you?" the man demanded to know, regarding the small child with a slight frown. She was just a child, and probably meant no harm, but still, she needed to know her actions weren't right. "I said who are you?" He repeated after not getting an answer after a couple of minutes._

_Suddenly, the ground below was churned up, sending Kakashi and the girl into the air, and Kakashi lost his grip. "Stay away!" The canine who'd fought against Sasuke growled, standing beside the other wolf-like animals, which shortly ran over to bring the girl over._

_Kakashi managed to dodge another wall of earth that erupted from the ground. "Chidori!" He called out, as he lowered his hand, focussing his chakra until it became visible. The three dogs were clearly in shock, as though they'd never seen anything like this before, but the one who fought Naruto earlier quickly summoned yet another giant earth wall – which was destroyed with such ease by the silver-haired Jounin. _

_The girl, shifted the small creature so that just one hand was supporting it, and grabbed the large cleaver from her back, swinging it rather clumsily over her shoulder. Using the flat edge, she waved it horizontally just as Kakashi was within a few feet and, almost with ease, knocked him to the side of the path. Both of her arms were trembling, and she seemed to be very distressed right at that moment. Kakashi knew she couldn't continue fighting and securing the small animal in her arms. Eventually, one would have to go, and he wondered why the dog was so important that she couldn't put it down. _

_The cleaver was returned to her back, and she stepped away from the sensei. She turned her head as the sounds of the genin as they emerged from the heavy shrubbery. The girl's jaw was clenched, and she was clearly very tense at this moment. The teacher watched as she was about to do something to her bandages over her eyes, but stopped at the sound of the creature in her arms giving a little yelp. It sounded almost as though the animal was pleading with her not to do whatever she was about to do. It worked. _

_The girl dropped her hand to her sides, and then she dropped to the ground onto her knees. Both arms were clutching hold of the small dog in her arms, and her head was buried into the animal's matted golden-brown fur. Was it a sign of defeat? She hardly even attempted to defend herself. Was she really giving up that easily? The squad watched as the three wolf-like dogs joined their master, and sat around her, accepting her decision. Kakashi nodded to the three genin, as they prepared to take the stranger to the Hokage's office. _

_/end flashback/_

* * *

The Hokage paced back and forth, seemingly facing a conflict of his own regarding these strangers. He then stopped and stood in front of her, watching her for a moment, wanting to examine her. It was obvious that this group were in need of medical attention at least, but he couldn't just grant them access into the village if they were missing from another country. "Where have you come from?" He asked her, with a tone soft and gentle tone. His calm, peaceful demeanour seemed to relax everybody inside the office, and an answer swiftly came.

"Not from a village," she replied, shaking her head. "I don't really know." Everybody was silent. This was the first time she'd said a word, and it surprised Naruto especially to hear how broken her voice was. He'd never heard anything like it before. "We lived on the border of two countries… but belonged in neither." The Third frowned a little at her answer, feeling a mixture of sympathy and sorrow for the girl, who seemed to struggle with telling him this. She didn't seem to want to disclose too much information, yet she wasn't stopping. "We lived with a dear woman. So we weren't alone like that."

Naruto looked up to his sensei, who was watching the situation intently. Never had the boy seen his teacher stare like that before. Usually, the man's attention would flip between the situation at hand, and then his book, but right now his only focus was on the child. With a sad sigh, he turned to watch the conversation between the girl and The Third.

"I see," the Hokage nodded once, and walked behind his desk, taking a seat. "What is your name, child?" As usual, his tone was soft, and comforting to hear. He didn't want to seem threatening to the girl, who was clearly in no good shape. One small step at a time, he thought to himself, not wishing to plan too far ahead. He knew she'd soon be enrolled into the academy, just like every other young genin-to-be, but right now this girl needed to be checked over and eat something to strengthen her up.

After a brief moment of silence the girl replied, "Shinuko Obake." Again, her voice remained unchanged. It was pained and almost filled with resentment. The blonde-haired boy watched her with a frown, trying to figure out what she was thinking, but seeing as she'd be accompanying his team for a small while, he was certain he'd find out more soon enough – although he yearned to learn more now.

The conversation was short, and once the Hokage had filled out the necessary documents, he dismissed the team after telling them to come back next week.

"We'll be meeting up at the main training ground tomorrow at dawn. Don't be late." Kakashi informed the group with a rather lazy expression. "But for now, I think we should go and have some dinner… my treat." Those two words were all Naruto needed to hear before he darted off, taking the lead.

Shinuko tightened her arms around the small dog just a little more, following the group as they made their way to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. The little animal whimpered… not from pain, but instead from fear. Something within the girl was stirring, as though something was provoking it.

Just as the Ichiraku place came into view, a cloud of darkness overcame all of Shinuko's senses.

* * *

**A.N. Sorry it seems to have been mostly a flashback.I guess I thought it would work better in this scenario *shrugs*. I'm pretty happy with how this came out. Hopefully the next chapter should be out same time next week.**


	2. Surprises

**A.N. I'm so grateful for the great reviews and the follows/favourites... it makes me truly happy. Now, although I have a soft spot for all things "Uchiha", I realise that a Sasuke x OC would be quite counter-productive in terms of my OC and the way in which I want her to develop, which is why I'm officially having this story be a Naruto x OC fanfiction. I must admit, writing such a story does make me grow fonder of our little Knucklehead Ninja. ^.^**

**Hm, what else did I want to say? Ah yes, two things really - but the second thing will be announced at the end of the story. So I just want to get a couple of thoughts about the idea of starting a new story maybe this Christmas? I realise that's a long way away, but I have so much uni work to do at the moment that it would just be insane to write two stories AND keep up with the merciless stream of assignments. This one would be an Itachi x OC story, set before the massacre. She won't be an Uchiha herself, so there will be a sense of secrecy on Itachi's part, because of his involvement with it all, which may breed a feeling of mistrust and anger - the latter emotion being felt by both parties. It's not even planned out, and already I'm excited by how the story could develop with regards to the entire thing. I realise, as I say all of this, that someone could easily take on board the idea (if not already done before)... but I have a firm idea of themes and even how it might conclude. **

**So would you guys like that sort of story (or even make it as a one-shot)? Let me know along with your reviews!**

* * *

_/Flashback/_

_The screams of the children were sharp and shrill. Their bodies writhed in agonising pain before the whites of their eyes grew cloudy and lifeless. The stench of death was sickeningly potent as it tauntingly lingered behind the two survivors who had been spared of the grisly demise._

_There was no safe place. Even when they were far from the burning building, they were still threatened by the thick, toxic, black air that they tried so desperately not to breathe in. One of the children, a boy of around ten years, wrapped his arm around the younger girl beside him, who seemed to be protecting a small creature inside her dirtied coat. He didn't dare to break the contact between them and, despite his growing sickness from the years in the home; he was more determined to bring his friend and her companion to safety. _

_It was evident that his friend was worried about the animal inside her coat as they ran, so he was careful to ensure her health was looked out for too, as he used his hand that was around her to keep her head low, and as far from the gaseous clouds that lurked above. It amazed him how, after being bombarded by the fallen debris, that the girl still tried to focus her attention on someone else rather than her own wellbeing. On her face he noticed a large gash that cut across her left eye, slicing right through her cheek all the way down to the bottom of her neck. The boy concluded that it must have happened after the exposed beams fell on top of them inside the building. Another gash was visible too, right beside the biggest. In fact, the entire left side of her face was covered in open wounds from the burning wood. The boy winced, hating to see her in such bad shape, and slightly tightened his grip, almost afraid to lose her – especially now._

_His attention was quickly diverted as the shouts of men could be heard behind them, and as the boy turned his head, he saw a number of the village shinobi chasing after them. Despite living most of his life in the children's home, the boy was well aware of the consequences of abandoning one's village. That was why they were after them. Nobody could risk letting a villager, even one who'd been cast away by their family, leave with the secrets known by only members of that land. An act such as this was surely punishable by death, but he was determined to not let them snatch away the most precious life in his existence._

_The boy looked down at his younger friend, feeling her stiffen as she ran, which he assumed was a result of all the running they'd done – and he had to admit that it was taking its toll on him as well. His body was growing weaker as the disease infiltrated each cell inside his body. His once bright blonde, energetic, spiky hair was now nothing more than a brown, limp mop-like feature on his head that feebly fell in front of his face, completely devoid of life. And his eyes, that were once a most beautiful, vibrant blue has transformed into a bleak grey. _

_Up ahead, he noticed that their path was about to come to an abrupt end. A large crevice filled with a poisonous gas surrounded their country. It was a feature that was effective against discouraging most enemies from entering their village and trying to steal their star. However, there was one way out which meant crossing an old, unstable rope bridge. With any luck it would hold their weight with ease until they made it to the other end, and maybe the men would be too much, and they would fall. _

_Letting go of the girl, he directed her to the start of the bridge. "Run, I'm just behind you," he assured his friend, who gripped the bundle inside her jacket tighter as she teetered over the bridge, keeping her body as low and centred as possible to avoid losing balance as the structure swayed violently. _

_Finally on the other side, the boy grabbed the girl's wrist and pushed her onto the ground and into a large patch of soft shrubbery. "Here," he whispered softly to her, as he fished out a hand-carved, stone kunai from his pocket, pressing it into her hand, and then carefully closed her fingers over it. "This will protect you from now on. Keep it with you at all times." He commanded, though his voice was gentle. Anything deeper or louder would reveal the extent of his sickness, which would only worry his friend. More than anything, he wanted her to be safe, and she wouldn't be if she was worried for his wellbeing. She needed to run – now._

_He looked down at her, wanting to lace his fingers with the wild hair that he adored so much, and pull her towards him for a final hug – just so he could say goodbye. "They're on their way, so we need to sneak away through this forest… remember to use the kunai…" His throat tightened as he swallowed, not meaning to lie to her. But if she knew, then she'd never agree to it. The men would find them, and they'd kill them both. _

_The thought of her hating him pained him to the core. After the promises they made, and the secrets they shared, he knew that lying and abandoning her would be unforgivable, although he hoped she'd see it another way. Well, he would never know…_

_/End flashback/_

Sasuke casually turned his head, seeing Shinuko just frozen in one place. She seemed almost conflicted with something in her mind or perhaps under some sort of jutsu. He couldn't tell, and he certainly didn't care – although he was perplexed by her behaviour. Was she against the idea of eating in such a public place? Was she perhaps concerned those… dogs… wouldn't be allowed inside? He jumped slightly, as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kakashi followed the boy's gaze and frowned when he saw Shinuko.

Sasuke pushed the man's hand off, and went to join the others, not feeling the need or desire to see what was wrong with the strange person. He was still irked at the notion of losing to one of those wolves. With any luck, her time around him would be limited, and soon she'd be enrolled in the academy or something. It simply wasn't in his nature to show concern for anybody other than himself, especially when he needed to focus on getting stronger.

Meanwhile, Kakashi walked cautiously over to the girl who, by this point, was trembling, as if from a cold air, but he knew that couldn't be the case – it was still relatively warm, plus she was wearing a rather heavy-duty jacket, which must have been weatherproof. The three canine watched the girl and stepped back a little, not entirely sure how this situation was about to play out. "Shinuko…" Kakashi's voice was sharp, hoping to break her out of this trance-like state. Even the small animal in her arms was fighting the desire to break free from this mechanical hold.

"Shinuko…" His tone changed, sounding somewhat more cautious and apprehensive. Perhaps if he just took her wrist, it would avert her thoughts and she might answer him…

Before his hand even made contact, a powerful, intense, black chakra cloaked itself around the girl, creating a dense force-field of sorts, which launched both Kakashi and the girl in opposite directions. Kakashi crashed straight into one of the neighbouring shops with a thunderous explosion that shook the entire street. Immediately, his team rushed to his side except from Sasuke, who was stunned at the power of that attack. With a move that could so easily kill – what made her choose to use it against someone who was wholly defenceless?

Shinuko flew back, scraping along the ground as she landed, tumbling backwards until one of the wolves caught her. "Master, let's go… we have to run," the one with the blue bandana insisted, as he released his grip from her jacket. The girl nodded, completely shaken from what just happened. In her lap, the scrawny animal was just as dazed, although she was relatively unscathed from the event.

As she got to her feet the young girl paused, listening to the worried voices of the genin. Suddenly, she heard a very familiar voice: Naruto. She was far too shell-shocked to really take in his words that were clearly being directed at her. All she could respond with was a very weak: "I'm sorry" before she and the animals disappeared from the scene.

Aside from feeling slightly dizzy and a few scratches here and there, Kakashi was fine, and recovered quickly. The front of his flak jacket was crusty and black, as though he'd been set on fire – but how could that be? That attack was not fire… or anything that he recognised, for that matter. Thinking back, he frowned at the thought that she didn't even make a single hand-sign. Her chakra… just acted without a single prompt from Shinuko. But surely that's impossible?

"Let's find her," Kakashi ordered, finding it strange that he felt no anger or hatred towards the person who, unprovoked, hurled him straight into very solid structures. He felt himself torn at the decision of telling the Hokage of these powers or keeping it to himself. Surely the girl had far surpassed the basic skills required for students in the academy to pass to genin level? She had the potential to be far greater than genin, but she seemed to lack control of her chakra, which let her down. Not to mention, that power could cause serious damage to children of her age… it would be too risky to allow her to enrol with students who still couldn't perform basic jutsu.

Naruto lead the group down the road, taking to the tops of the buildings for a better view, although he saw nothing. "Can you see any prints down there?" He called to his team, with his eyes narrowed in order to try and get a clearer picture of what was ahead.

"Nothing," Sakura replied as she frowned, not expecting to get too many clues on hard ground. "The gates are closed… so she'll have to be within the walls of Konoha." She added, which gave evident hope to Kakashi and Naruto who, silently, expressed their relief with a quick nod.

"Perhaps we should split?" Naruto suggested, as he jumped down from the rooftops. "To cover more ground, y'know?" He slowed down just a little, wanting to really make sure they found her quickly before she caused any more damage. After that sudden attack, he didn't want to put anything past her.

"The main gate," Sasuke pointed out with a thoughtful tone. "She may head there first, so we should split up once we reach there." The mere sound of his voice prompted different reactions. Naturally Sakura swooned – overjoyed at the thought of how smart Sasuke was. He just one-upped Naruto on every level. On the other hand, Naruto felt the opposite. It infuriated him that despite coming up with the idea, Sasuke took all the credit. Worse still, Kakashi approved Sasuke's idea when it was originally _his_. Furiously, Naruto raced ahead, determined to outshine the star pupil once and for all. He completely ignored Sakura's demands and whines to stick by them. This time nobody was going to steal his ideas!

Naruto steered left at the gate, heading toward the Third Training Ground, which seemed vacant, but he wasn't about to leave any stones unturned. He grinned as he edged closer to the wooded area by the river, hearing a couple of voices. Without a moment's hesitation, he darted forward, grabbing hold of the first shadowy figure he saw.

"Damn Shinuko… you're not as dainty as I thought…" He immediately snapped his jaw shut, realising that whatever… or whoever he was holding onto was not, in fact, Shinuko. And the others who accompanied the stranger weren't the canine. He couldn't have been more wrong. Naruto leapt back, realising how vastly outnumbered he was right now.

He couldn't see their headbands clear enough to determine which village they were from, but he was sure that his shadow clones could take out the five men. Quickly, the blonde-haired genin created ten clones, all of which launched themselves at the rogues. Each one threw the contents of their weapons pouches at the rogues, who retaliated with water-style jutsu that pulverised each clone one by one.

Suddenly a bulky kunai knife flew out from the depths of the forest, sinking into a tree beside one of the rogues, interrupting any train of thought. Shortly after a moment of menacing silence, a hand snaked around Naruto's eyes and pulled him down into the greenery just as the ground began to quiver slightly.

New branches on the trees began growing from the trunks, trying to wrap themselves around the men, who quickly went to make a run for it, only to find the roots of the trees had emerged from the ground and had entwined themselves around their feet. A booming noise followed as the large men all toppled over, powerless to do anything but watch as the roots caged them, tightening with every struggle until their breathes became short and quick. The tremors in the ground grew more intense and new trees began sprouting up from underneath the rogues, growing at an unnaturally rapid pace. Blood curdling, hoarse cries and wails erupted imminently, deafening the entire forest, as well as attracting certain attention from anyone in the surrounding areas.

Naruto panicked, and pushed free from his captor, only to realise it was Shinuko and the small dog at her side. He whipped his head around to see all the men sprawled out, howling in pain from seemingly nothing. The silence that eventually followed was unnerving and almost pitiful. It seemed so extreme to put them through such agony, only to… "Are they dead?" Naruto asked, in shock that these men could possibly never awaken.

The girl shook her head before teetering over to where the stone kunai was, easing it out of the trunk. "Unconscious." She replied bluntly, slipping the weapon into her jacket pocket. The three wolves shortly emerged, and the one with the red bandana was quick to explain:

"They were under a gen-jutsu the instant they noticed that kunai," the wolf clarified, as he and his brothers walked to their master's side. "I don't know the technical side to the human body, but I believe that all the screaming and terror eventually consumes and drains their bodies, knocking them unconscious… all ready for authoritative figures to arrive and deal with it appropriately." The animal looked up at Naruto, expecting some sort of gesture to indicate he understood – with no such luck. Stifling a sigh, he gave a more basic explanation in his usual deep, calm voice, so not to express any lack of amusement at the boy's limited vocabulary.

Shortly following the stillness in the air, Kakashi, his team and a four high-ranked shinobi arrived on the scene. Before anything else, the shinobi went to separate Shinuko from Naruto and the limp bodies on the ground, and the four canine were quickly restrained shortly afterwards, before the blonde interjected. "She isn't the bad guy here," he insisted, pointing his finger at the rogues to get everyone's attention on them. "They attacked me! I don't know where they came from… but they were just here and…"

Sasuke smirked, flicking his head up, glancing down at his teammate. "So you had to be rescued again, huh?" Sasuke snidely remarked, feeling amused that, like in the Land of Waves, his teammate had to rely on another person to help him out of a situation. Naturally that statement just fuelled the fire, and Naruto was quick to retort with a colourful range of language.

"At least his vocabulary isn't _that_ limited, I guess," the wolf murmured, plainly less than impressed with this boy from earlier. The other two wolves silently grinned at the unexpected catty remark made by their brother, completely taken aback by him: a wolf which was normally so controlled, restrained and wise. Their attention swiftly switched back to the situation at hand, as Kakashi reasoned with the other shinobi, who eventually allowed him to take Shinuko with him, whilst they reported everything back to the Hokage.

Once the shinobi had completely disappeared from sight, Kakashi walked over to Shinuko with a kind smile underneath his mask. Before he could say a word, the girl quickly cut his train of thought by stating that she didn't wish to join the academy. "I want to train not in a structured and controlled environment." She added firmly, standing tall and strong as if to mirror her thoughts – there was no backing down.

"Don't worry," began the Jounin as he waved his hands to dismiss that idea. "I'll see to it that you're able to join a team as soon as possible… as a genin. Your role will be to take on missions with your team, assigned by the Hokage." He explained, gesturing towards his team, as if to show an example even though the girl wouldn't be able to see with her eyes covered. "Perhaps, seeing as things didn't work as expected before with lunch, we could try again… and introduce ourselves?" Kakashi suggested, feeling eager to learn more about this girl. To his delight, she agreed and scooped up the small dog before she went to follow him and the rest of his squad.

Sasuke sat at the far end of the Ichiraku ramen bar, trying to avoid involving himself too much in the same sort of conversation they'd already had. Of course, next to the Uchiha was Sakura, and surrounding Shinuko was Naruto and Kakashi – with the sensei on the other end. All three wolves were sat guarding the ramen bar, with the smallest dog still in its master's lap.

Once the team had finishing talking about themselves, Naruto quickly asked: "what about you, Shinuko?" Both he and Sakura definitely were keen to hear her story – her dreams, fears and experiences.

Shinuko seemed somewhat anxious to disclose any more information after her name. "I guess I don't really think too much about it… I practice my swordsmanship," she shrugged, making a simple gesture to the large cleaving blade on her back. "My friend left me a small legacy; it was nothing of monetary value. Instead, it was a dream that he spoke of often, and it's something I shall make a reality for him." There was an unmistakeable sad tone in her voice as she spoke. The memories she recalled were still very vivid and real in her mind – his voice was so clear she could have almost believed he was talking directly to her in the physical world.

Just before her words could sink in, one of the wolves spoke up, eager to keep them from asking too many questions. "My name is Osamu," he declared as he looked at the squad with his soft, caramel eyes. It was strange how, now that names could be put to their faces, the wolves were so different despite being nearly identical. Osamu had the red bandana, and his body was more solidly built than the other two, who were leaner and smaller in height.

"And Katsu," the wolf with the blue bandana announced as he shifted his weight a little from where he was sat, returning Sasuke's glare with a mocking grin. Katsu definitely had some sort of superiority complex or inferiority complex due to being both the smallest and youngest of the trio, as well as being the physically strongest. He was very lean and muscular, making him incredibly fast and agile too – which further fired up his desire to succeed in everything related to taijutsu.

Last of the three wolves was Isamu, who introduced himself without hesitation. He was the most undistinguishable of the three when it came to physical. Instead, he had a very vibrant energy and an unconditionally positive attitude that really drew others towards him no matter what the situation. Isamu paced over to Shinuko's foot and hopped up onto his back legs, "and this is Ren…" He said quickly, seeing that the small animal was asleep, before nosing his master's empty bowl to sneak a taste of the broth.

"My parents gave me her when I…" Shinuko suddenly stopped, realising she said something she really didn't want to say. Unfortunately the abrupt pause could easily be interpreted in the wrong way, so she knew she had to continue: "Pardon me… when I was young. It was difficult with me being… you know…" she made a gesture to the bandages that covered her eyes, before quietly and almost reluctantly continuing: "and when they couldn't cope anymore, I went to this home with Ren." She finished quickly, absent-mindedly giving Isamu a pat on the head.

"What about the other dogs? Where did you find them?" Naruto asked shortly afterward, pointing his finger at Osamu and Katsu who were sat still on the ground, looking far from impressed. Osamu muttered something to his brother, who grumbled a response and flopped to the ground in a huff.

That question was followed by a small squeak of unease as Shinuko pulled her light, matted hair over one shoulder, beginning to plait it slowly as she tried to figure out how to respond. "Well… they lived at this home… they were loyal friends of D-Daisuke…" She silently gulped as she felt her breaths get caught up in her throat. The mere mentioning of his name caused a gloomy atmosphere to form and loom over the girl and the wolves' heads. "And they're Hokkaido wolves… not dogs. Ren is a dog – a Shiba-Inu." She added, almost as a side thought as she stopped braiding for a moment, and just gripped her hair tightly as she fought back any fleeting desire to express any sad emotion.

Osamu stood and paced over to his master's side with Katsu, who both watched as their brother nuzzled her arm, pushing it over his head, just wanting to comfort her. They all felt the same right at that moment; the memories still so fresh in their minds despite it happening many years ago.

Kakashi offered the girl a sympathetic expression as he silently paid for their meals. "I'm sorry, Shinuko." He whispered quietly to her, as he went to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but stopped mid-way at the recollection of what happened last time.

"Excuse me," Shinuko murmured as she pushed away from the bar, taking the now awake dog in her arms as she hopped off of the stool. She bowed her head to both Kakashi and the trio before sighing, "I just have had a long day… I would like to take a moment to collect myself." She explained dejectedly as she ruffled Isamu's fur. Despite feeling a pang of anger and discomfort in her chest, she didn't object when Naruto offered to walk her to her place of residence. Perhaps the notion was somehow comforting to her, or maybe she was just too tired to argue. Kakashi also didn't warn Naruto to back off, as he could see genuine concern in the blonde's eyes.

"Meet us at the Third Training Ground tomorrow at seven sharp." Kakashi said finally as he turned to his team, before giving them permission to leave as well. Both Shinuko and his squad nodded in agreement before they all parted ways.

"Can you show me where that is?" Shinuko asked Naruto, even though she had already been there, she wasn't aware that these areas had names until that moment. Naruto enthusiastically agreed with the widest grin as he guided her to the right grounds. "This is where we were earlier?" She questioned, recognising the sound of the river. Naruto nodded, and then looked down at his feet, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Thank you, Shinuko, for saving me earlier… I'm really grateful you came to help. You're a really cool person, you know that? Believe it." He beamed, giving her a thumb up gesture. Naruto seemed to naturally lighten any mood with his energetic aura, and a ghost of a smile crept across Shinuko's face for a moment.

"How do you manage to stay so upbeat?" Naruto would have been lying if he said he wasn't surprised by the girl's sudden question. Of course he could empathise with the feeling of hopelessness and loneliness that came from being particularly _different_. Then, he thought about what happened earlier with Kakashi-sensei – when people touched her, something repelled them back. Was she referring to that curse thing? Could it be that she resented it for not allowing her have physical contact with others? The blonde paused, looking at the minute animal in her arms, Ren. Obviously there must be conditions for that black energy to emerge, because she'd been holding onto Ren all this time and no such power tried to stop that.

Naruto scratched nervously at his arm, unsure of how to answer her question. "What I mean is," Shinuko quickly continued, as she walked over to the posts, taking a seat at the foot of the vertical pillar. She could feel the heavy blade weigh down on her shoulders, as it was pushed up through the belt that secured it, and left it towering over her tiny frame. "How do you find the motivation to become _someone_, if nobody allows you too? No matter how hard you work at overcoming the hurdles in your path, once you've cleared the obstacle you are met with nothing but disdain and disgust. People fear you, and that makes them blind to what is beneath the surface. It feels like you're fighting this endless, pointless battle sometimes, because without a family, you're made to feel excluded from the human race… and made to feel as wanted as a contagious disease." Shinuko took out the stone kunai from her jacket pocket and gripped onto it, feeling so frustrated at the idea of letting down her childhood friend. "Sometimes, memories aren't exactly enough."

The genin took a spot beside her, not sure how to answer the very questions that plagued his mind too, on occasion. "I don't know," he replied sympathetically as he looked down at his hands. It comforted him to know that the pair weren't so different after all, and maybe if she could realise that, she might feel the same. However, he knew she wasn't after a speech on comparisons. She was hurting, and needed guidance to get back onto the path she had set out to follow. "Maybe sometimes you just have to fight. You need to believe in the will of fire." He grinned, watching as Shinuko lifted her head, slightly intrigued by the phrase. "Once you know what it is you have to fight for, that fire will always burn, and your will to succeed will never die down. Believe it!"

* * *

**A.N. That ending actually took me the longest time, all-in-all. I didn't want to make the interaction between Shinuko and Naruto too long, as I felt it would just take away the power of that final speech. Originally it was just going to be Naruto and her walking to the hotel in Shukuba Town where she was staying, and then have this deep conversation. However I realised that the town was outside of Konoha, and those guards would probably forbid them from leaving - especially Shinuko after word spread about that incident with Kakashi. So yeah, it then changed to a long dialogue, which completely killed the impact of those words... so I settled for this, which I think I'm quite happy with. What do you all think?**

**As I said above, I have two things I wanted to say. The second thing was an idea related to this story. I wanted to develop it a little further and compose a series of random drabbles. They would be similar to "fillers" in the anime, and would perhaps offer some sort of comedy (especially with the "Holiday Specials" I have drafted out on paper scraps). Some will be adding on to the story in an off-topic sort of way, whilst others will be completely random, maybe OOC or AU... who knows? I have so many ideas, and after this story has gone on for a while, I want to write a story based on Shinuko's early years with Daisuke and the people she encountered afterwards, because that could be quite interesting, to show how she's become the person she is today. I mean, flashbacks are great, but there's only so much that is relevant to the situation. **

**Well, I don't know - let me know what you think of the Itachi x OC idea, the drabbles idea and the overall story of course! Do you think the ending worked well for that situation?**

* * *

**A.A.N. Does she seem too Mary-Sue/OP? When I planned her out, she does have some strong, dark energy but I will explain it in a later chapter how it works, because it's not reliable as an everyday "go to" power source. As for the three wolves, they each specialise in one of the three main techniques (tai/gen/ninjutsu) and again, their chakra reserves are not infinite. With swordmanship as her only viable option, that is her speciality - however, her main blade is currently pretty heavy for her to wield, and her katana does relatively less damage. So next week's chapter will explore her powers and abilities in more depth as she meets her misogynist sensei, Yuudai!**


End file.
